The roots of the Arts Council lie in the War Artist Scheme (WAS) set up by the Ministry of Information in 1939. Back then, the government commissioned artists to reflect, not just on "the action", but also the changes the war brought to our general way of life. The printmaker and painter Eric Ravillious lost his life doing this job, when he accompanied an RAF rescue mission that failed to return to its base. Others, such as Henry Moore, became household names. The paintings and prints that were amassed in the process were shown to the people in touring shows: the idea was born that culture could form part of a conversation about national life. When peace eventually arrived, this dynamic was given form by the Arts Council.

The postwar period also saw the expansion of education. New universities were built, the first polytechnics were created. Art schools were transformed from 19th-century institutions giving art diplomas to rich people into open academies that would go on to fuel Britain's growing creative economy with kids schooled in fashion, music, graphics and the fine arts.

My father was one of the people who benefited from these changes. A working-class lad, his life was transformed because he could draw and paint. In the 1960s and 70s he ran the Chelsea School of Art. During that time, Chelsea moved to a modernist building on the Kings Road and built up an extraordinary art library under the stewardship of Fluxus scholar Clive Philpot.

Art schools continue to be amazing places: they are places of social interchange where the wealthy intermingle with the deserving and Britain's culture is hot-housed. The expansion of art education is intertwined with the activities of the Arts Council, the British Council, the local authorities (which fund many smaller museums) and the major museums and galleries.

The Browne review in higher education will drastically change the fabric of this system. It raises fees so dramatically that the study of British culture will go back to how it was in the 19th century. We can look forward to the return of the Bloomsbury school of art: wealthy, well-connected kids making vacuous decoration instead of real cultural innovation.

The cuts to the Arts Council and other funders of museums destroys and undersells British culture. How can the country that produced Shakespeare cut core funding of the study of English? What kind of conservative does not want people to study Elgar? How have we got to a state where our government is so ignorant that it is prepared to launch a war on British culture? Why are the chattering classes not up in arms about this devaluation of Dickens, Turner and Emin?

The arts are a universal language, reminding us that the factors that unite us are huge, wonderful and exciting, and that what divides us is small and mean. In the arts, Britain is still a superpower. The whole world flocks to visit the Tate, the National Theatre or the Sage. This government should realise what it has got and stop bashing culture. The current cuts to the arts and humanities spell out the end of the British people's emancipation through culture. For me, it's like ripping up the Magna Carta.